You spend your whole lifetime
â
You spend your whole lifetime in your occupation,
actually making life clever,
easy and convenient for white people.
But when you have to get transportation home,
you are denied an equal accommodation.
Our existence was for the white man's comfort and well being;
we had to accept being deprived of just being human.
â
Meaning
This quote means Black labor was used to make white life easier while Black people were denied even basic dignity in return.
About Author
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks was an American civil rights activist celebrated for her pivotal role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Her quotes often reflect courage, justice, and dignity. Parks inspires activists, students, and citizens to stand against injustice, embrace civic responsibility, and advocate for equality and human rights.
Related Quotes
â My only concern was to get home after a hard day's work. â
This quote emphasizes the plain humanity of her situation. After a long workday, she only wanted to get home.
â Time begins the healing process of wounds cut deeply by oppression. We soothe ourselves with the salve of attempted indifference, accepting the false pattern set up by the horrible restriction of Jim Crow laws. â
This quote means oppression leaves wounds that time only partly heals, especially when people are pressured to accept the false normal of unjust laws.
â The Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute accepts people of any race. We don't discriminate against anyone. We teach people to reach their highest potential. I set examples by the way I lead my life. â
This quote means her institute stands for equality, inclusion, and personal growth, and that she believed leadership begins with personal example.